City Council

The City Clerk and City Manager recommend the City Council receive and file the tentative agenda for the November 16, 2026 meeting along with a list of significant agenda items coming up through January 2027. This advance notice helps keep the public informed and helps staff and Council plan meeting schedules and workflow more effectively.

The City Council is being asked to authorize filing an application with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to request the remaining $965,000 in Regional Measure 3 funding for Phase 2 of Petaluma Transit's electrification project, which will install additional charging infrastructure to support five new battery-electric buses arriving in December 2027. Petaluma was awarded $2 million total for this project in 2023, with $1.035 million already approved for Phase 1 (charging cabinets and electrical upgrades completed in 2025), leaving $965,000 available for Phase 2. Without this funding approval, the City would need to find alternative funding sources or delay operations of the new electric buses when they arrive next year.

The City Council is being asked to formally approve a corrected version of the Marina Loan Settlement Agreement with the California Department of Parks and Recreation that was already signed in October. The correction fixed the payment schedule so the first payment is due November 1, 2026, with all future payments due August 1st each year, rather than having all payments due in November as the original version presented to Council stated. Since this change wasn't explicitly authorized when Council first approved the settlement in September, staff is asking for retroactive ratification to confirm the corrected agreement that both parties have already executed.

The City Council is being asked to adopt an ordinance that bans the use of drinking water to irrigate nonfunctional turf (decorative lawn areas that serve no recreational purpose) on commercial, industrial, institutional properties, and homeowners association common areas, as required by state law Assembly Bill 1572. The ordinance also updates the City's landscape water efficiency standards to match the state's current standards and must be adopted by January 1, 2027. The City has identified no nonfunctional turf on city-owned properties and has already begun notifying schools and commercial property owners about the new requirements, which take effect in phases from 2027 through 2031 depending on property type.

City staff recommend the council adopt a name for the popular 3.5-mile pathway running along Petaluma's eastern boundary between Dover Lane and Casa Grande Road, with the Parks and Recreation Commission recommending either "Eastern" or "Eastern Ring" Pathway after receiving 226 community nominations. The pathway is the city's longest and connects neighborhoods to schools and parks while providing car-free access and views of Sonoma Mountain, and naming it will improve wayfinding as part of a grant-funded signage project planned for 2027. There are no new costs to the city, and the effort supports climate goals by encouraging walking and biking as alternatives to driving.

City staff is asking the City Council to hold a public hearing and adopt Phase 1 of Petaluma Zoning Reform, which overhauls the zoning code to align with the newly adopted General Plan 2050 (which took effect October 14, 2026) and implement housing and climate priorities. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval after four public hearings, and Phase 1 establishes new zones matching the General Plan's land use map, reduces parking requirements for apartments, allows up to 4 housing units by right on single residential lots, streamlines permitting for small housing projects, creates a new Maker/Microbusiness zone, and updates flood regulations to account for the 500-year floodplain. The staff report notes this is a substantial but foundational amendment that resolves the most urgent policy questions, with broader zoning reform and modernization reserved for later phases in spring and fall 2027.